Citizens have a right to know

Apparently Sikeston has a new motto:  "Shhh, be very, very quiet."

Just like Elmer Fudd wanted the audience to be quiet in the Bugs Bunny cartoons, "visionaries" within Sikeston want city officials to be quiet. My question: what are they hiding?

Apparently some "visionaries" weren't happy with a report that the Sikeston Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were teaming to combat gun violence. You see, since Jan. 1, the city of Sikeston had received 47 calls of "shots fired," averaging a call every three to four days. That is something of note if you ask me.

When the story ran in the newspaper, apparently a few "visionaries" had their feathers ruffled. They think information like this should be kept from the citizens.

What many people don't know is that according to city policy, all news releases and public notices must be approved by the city manager or department head, in the case of a public notice. So the news we bring you is filtered.

That's right, if Joe Lawbreaker is busted for doing drugs, that information may or may not make it into the newspaper depending on the approval of city officials. I can tell you we do everything possible to try and get the information, but it doesn't always happen. But the more we are stonewalled, the more determined we are to get the information.

The city's policies should raise a red flag with all Sikeston residents. What is the city keeping from you?

A "visionary" recently wrote to the newspaper to say that the issue isn't to withhold information but that "very little modern-journalism is bias free." Maybe on the national scale, but not on the local scale.

When the newspaper is presented with information we write it in a very unbiased manner. We list who was arrested and what the charges are. We don't presume guilt, only state the facts we are given by law enforcement personnel. In the case of the gun violence in the city story, we didn't play it up as a "City in Crisis." Instead we took the angle of DPS and ATF were teaming to stop the gun violence. Where was the "sensationalism?"

The "visionaries" want us to report on more than just the negative factors in the community. Unfortunately they must not read this newspaper. In the past months we have written stories about the use of iPads in the Sikeston schools, the promotion of the I-55 corridor, library and youth programs, church celebrations and many other things that featured the good of the community. As a matter of fact, the number of good stories far outweighs the bad in my opinion.

The citizens have the right to know who was arrested and the crimes being committed in the community. They have a right to know what needs to be fixed. Sweeping it underneath the rug and keeping it quiet doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It just makes me wonder what they are keeping from us?

I agree with our publisher's stance that in order to solve the problems we need to first start a dialogue. That is done by making the public as informed as possible of the good and bad. I don't believe the "visionaries" have that stance.

The news should not be filtered. If an affluent member of the community commits a crime it should be reported the same as anyone else. If our community is having problems with drugs or guns, the community should be made aware. What gives certain people inside the city the right to decide what information gets to the community and what information doesn't?

I have a vision of Sikeston's future. It involves getting some new "visionaries" in city offices and positions of influence. "Visionaries" that aren't scared of the truth and who don't keep secrets. It's time the Elmer Fudds of the community move on.